Less Than Stellar: The Ten Worst Supergroups of All Time

What's the deal with supergroups? They're rarely as great as the sum of their parts, or able to overcome the ghosts of bands past. Even the most commercially successful all-star bands usually fail on a musical level. Can they simply not live up to the hype? Or, as The Guardianproposed in this 2009 article discussing the phenomenon, is the "stink of last-ditch careerism" to blame for their often disappointing results? Whatever the reason, there have only been a few supergroups worthy of the name since Eric Clapton formed Cream in 1966. Far more common are the utterly terrible results of collaboration gone awry.

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Read on for the ten worst supergroups ever to stalk the earth.

10. Monsters of Folk

Who's in it: Jim James from My Morning Jacket, Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis from Bright Eyes, and M. Ward

Why they suck: This is a classic example of a supergroup failing to live up to its potential. Four guys from admittedly pretty good bands that ended up producing some extremely weak sauce.

9. The Good, the Bad, & the Queen

Who's in it: Damon Albarn of Blur, Paul Simonon of The Clash, Simon Tong of The Verve, and Tony Allen, former drummer of Fela Kuti's band Africa 70

Why they suck: In a word, boring. Since the pseudo-demise of Blur, Damon Albarn's had a hand in about a million projects. TGTBATQ is proof that not all he touches turns to gold.

8. Oysterhead

Who's in it: Les Claypool of Primus, Trey Anastasio of Phish and Stewart Copeland of The Police

Why they suck: Easily the most controversial inclusion on this list, the Wikipedia description of their music as "bass-oriented funk metal" is enough to turn the strongest of stomachs. Still, they do have their devotees--including, apparently, Reverb editor Chris Kornelis. Care to fess, Chris?

7. Zwan

Who's in it: Members of The Smashing Pumpkins, Slint, Tortoise, Chavez, and A Perfect Circle

Why they suck: Well, first off, the vanity project of known egomaniac and control freak Billy Corgan is bound to run into some... artistic challenges. Basically, their music was really shitty, though Corgan disagreed. Of their acrimonious breakup, he said, "The music wasn't the big problem, it was more their attitude," then proceeded to trash-talk members of the band by name. Are you sure it wasn't your attitude that was the problem, Billy?

6. The Power Station

Who's in it: Robert Palmer, former Chic drummer Tony Thompson, and Duran Duran's John Taylor and Andy Taylor

Why they suck: Despite the popularity of "Some Like it Hot" (which reached #6 in the U.S. charts), it-- shocker-- hasn't held up over time. Power Station ran from 1985-1995, not the best time for over-produced pop made by past-their-prime stars.

5. Yoso

Who's in it: Former members of Yes Billy Sherwood and Tony Kaye and Bobby Kimball, frontman of Toto

Why they suck: Who knew that adding a member of the awesome Toto to Yes would create a band worse than Circa? The "clever" combo name doesn't help matters.